Thank you Hollie as always for your fabulous reviews! Enjoy!
Stevie had told Jess to take a quick break while she went back to the office to try and see if Kim's phone was still showing at the hotel. Jess sat down in a seat in the canteen staring out the window. She held her coffee tightly in her hands just letting the warmth flow through her. She realised there was no way she would be able to leave work on time tonight, and she didn't want to either. She wanted to find Kim. She decided that she should ring Callum, just to let him know that she would be late. She pulled her phone from her pocket, scrolling through until she got the home number. Callum answered near enough on the first ring.
"Are you sitting on top of the phone?" Jess said jokingly.
"What?" Callum asked, confused.
"Well I'd barely rung the number when you picked up. Anyway, I'm just ringing to let you know I'm gonna be late tonight, so don't wait up." she said, blowing on the steaming coffee.
"Big case?" Callum asked, almost wistfully.
"A fifteen year old girl has gone missing after meeting a guy on Facebook." Jess said sadly. There was silence at the end of the phone. "Callum?"
"Jess, I'm sorry about what I said last night. I didn't want to upset you, but I'm just so frustrated here, not doing anything all day. I'm no use here." Callum said quickly.
"It's ok honey, I know. I was just fed up with the whole situation at work, and I know it must be so much worse for you." Jess said quietly, sipping her coffee.
"Do you know something?" Callum asked, sounding a bit happier.
"Hmm?" Jess questioned.
"I do love you." he said, and Jess could hear the smile in his voice. She started to laugh.
"Well, I'm glad." she said cheekily, "Oh and by the way..."
"Yes?" Callum questioned.
"I love you too." Jess said with a smile. She hung up and put the phone back in her pocket, heading back to CID.
Jess walked through the double doors to CID and ran nearly smack bang into Commander Kennedy.
"Sorry." she mumbled, trying to sidestep her to find Stevie.
"No, that's ok." the Commander said. The Commander studied her closely and then said, "Are you Sergeant Stone's partner?"
Jess stopped shortly, "Yes why?"
"Could I have a word please?" the Commander asked.
"I'm sorry ma'am but I'm needed on an important case." Jess said, trying to maintain politeness but really not wanting to talk to the bitch who had an impact in getting Callum suspended.
The Commander smiled tightly, "You don't like me."
"I didn't say that. As I said, I'm busy. Excuse me ma'am." Jess said, offering a tight smile.
"I'm sure Detective Moss can spare you for five minutes. Follow me." the Commander said, and there was no doubt that Jess had to go with her. They walked along the corridors in silence to the office that the Commander was using. She sat behind her desk and offered Jess the chair in front of it. Jess stood instead, her hands behind her back. "How is Sergeant Stone doing?"
Jess held back the derisive laugh that was about to leave her lips, "Why don't you ask him instead of me?" Jess paused, before adding, "But I can tell you he's doing brilliantly considering he's been suspended for something he didn't do."
The Commander raised an eyebrow at the rude officer, "Excuse me?"
"We've all seen the clips. It's obvious that Callum pushed the man with an open palm because the man wouldn't listen to Callum. I was there, as were numerous officers who have all given statements saying the same! Civilians have also given statements that corroborate ours. We're trained to look at the evidence and question if it supports our cases, yet this clearly is not happening here." Jess said, the anger flaring deep in her.
"PC Waite, is that your name?" the Commander asked.
Jess fought back the urge to hit the woman in front of her. Never had a woman made her feel so angry. "No it's not, my name is PC Hunter."
"Divorced?" the Commander asked with what the Commander obviously thought was her sympathetic face.
"Yes, after my son died potentially due to my husband's neglect, as well as my husband systematically beating me up and putting me in hospital more than once. And once I did get divorced, my ex husband died, suicide. So yes, I am divorced. I don't see how this is relevant?" Jess questioned, arms folded tightly across her chest. The Commander looked shocked at what Jess had just said.
"I wanted to know what you thought the morale was like within the team." the Commander said, her hands steepled on the desk.
"It's quite low actually, but that could be because we've just lost a brilliant Sergeant." Jess said, trying to keep the sarcastic note out her voice.
"Would you say you were biased though?" the Commander questioned.
"No. I'm a professional." Jess said, and then thought that actually, she wasn't really acting that professional right now, "Ask any of the team and they will tell you what a good Sergeant he is. That fact remains the same regardless if I'm dating him or not. Is that everything?"
The Commander surveyed her for a minute before nodding, "Thank you for your time PC Hunter. Rest assured, Sergeant Stone will hear the outcome soon."
"Oh well I'll be sure to tell him that." Jess said sarcastically as she exited.
The doors to CID were flung open as Jess crashed through them. She perched on the edge of Stevie's desk, desperately trying to stop the anger exploding out of her.
"Just seen Commander Kennedy?" Stevie asked, coming to the desk with a bunch of files in her hand.
"Is it that obvious?" Jess sighed.
"I only ask cause she was looking for you earlier, I tried to put her off the scent but obviously she found you." Stevie said with an apologetic look.
"Thanks for trying to not let her find me. I don't even know what the agenda of our little "chat" was. I can't say I was very professional though." Jess said, her forehead wrinkling in thought, "Anyway, how's it going?"
"We triangulated where Kim's phone last pinged, but it was hard to get a precise location as she, or whoever has the phone, was on the move." Stevie explained, laying out some files on the cluttered desk.
"Whereabouts was the signal?" Jess asked, looking at the map on the desk. Stevie pointed to a red circle which covered a small portion of the map.
"It could have come from anywhere within this circle. I've sent some officers out trying to see if there is anything of interest within the area. I've also got some techies down to Kim's house to retrieve her laptop, and once we're in the laptop we can try and figure out who this Milo bloke really is." Stevie said, sitting back in her chair.
Two hours later and both uniform and the techies had finally got back to Stevie. Uniform had found nothing of particular interest around the area, and any CCTV that they could have used hadn't given them anything either. The techies had unlocked Kim's computer and delivered it to CID.
"Thanks guys." Stevie said with a smile as she placed the laptop on her desk. Jess grabbed a chair and sat next to Stevie as she began to go through the messages on the laptop. "Here, from Kim to Milo Wilson. Here's his profile, oh very buff looking. So..." Stevie perused all the information on Milo's profile, "He's nineteen and from Canley, what a coincidence. Look, here it says he's in a relationship with a certain Kim Stevens. Now, let's see what they've been sending to each other." Stevie went onto Milo's messages, and Jess and Stevie read them in shock. The messages were explicit to say the least, and included photos.
"She's only fifteen, how does she know all this stuff?!" Jess said, frowning at the sentence she read.
"Kids just aren't kids anymore." Stevie said simply. "Right, let's print these off and go through them, see if there are any hints to who he actually is and where he might have taken her. Can you run the name Milo Wilson through PNC? No doubt it's a false name, but still worth a try." Stevie asked, walking to the printer and flicking through all the messages.
"Sure." Jess said, seating herself at an empty desk and quickly using the computer. She typed in Milo Wilson, and she couldn't say she was surprised when she saw what Milo Wilson really looked like. He had dirty blonde hair and dark brown eyes, and was also in his forties. Jess read through his arrests and her stomach immediately dropped. This wasn't good. "Stevie, you should see this."
Stevie looked at her questioningly and walked over. Her eyes skimmed across the information on the screen, and when she had read it all she let out a sigh, "If he's the one who has her, it's not good. Jeez, sexual assault, aggravated assault and a rape charge which was dropped."
"Should we get Kim's mum in?" Jess asked, looking up at her colleague.
"Yeah, I think we should. Let me get this address, and I'll go and ask the Inspector if I can steal some officers for a raid. Can you ring Kim's mum? Ask her if she can come in." Stevie asked, already heading out of the office.
Jess shook her head sadly before picking up the phone. She really hoped that her gut instinct was wrong in what it was telling her, because it wasn't good.
The sun was starting to set that evening when Stevie and a group of officers stood outside the last known address of Milo Wilson. The house was a small council house with an overgrown front garden. The front door was painted a dark blue, but all the paint was peeling off, giving it an uncared for look. Stevie looked at the house and then to the officers.
"Right, you all know the situation. We need to get in the house, find Milo, and find Kim. Ben and Nate, I'd like you round the back in case he runs. Mel, Millie and Sally, I want you further down the street keeping a watch on the house. Smithy, Jess and Leon, you're with me. Mickey and Tony in the car ready to chase if he legs it past everyone. Everyone clear?" Stevie asked.
"Yes Sarge." the officers said in unison.
"Right then, let's get Kim." Stevie said determinedly. All the officers went to their assigned spots. Leon grabbed the red enforcer from the van, holding it firmly in his arms as he walked up the path. Smithy, Stevie and Jess were right behind him, ready to run in. "Ok Leon." Stevie said with a nod. Leon swung back the enforcer and hit it against the door twice before the door finally gave way and opened.
Smithy ran in as soon as the door had opened shouting "Police!" Stevie and Jess were right behind him. They ran into all the rooms, but they didn't find a single person.
"Clear!" Smithy shouted from downstairs.
Jess headed for the stairs, taking them two at a time. She got to the upstairs landing, heading to the door furthest away which was shut. She hurried towards it, slowly opening the door and gasping.
"Sarge!" Jess shouted from what must have been Milo's bedroom. Both Stevie and Smithy ran up the stairs into the room, followed closely by Leon. All three stopped short by what was in front of them.
"I think we found his room." Leon muttered, taking in all the pictures tacked onto the walls. There must have been hundreds of pictures of Kim here, some of her posing, some of her just smiling normally, and some of her topless. The officers took a few steps closer, not believing the amount of pictures here. Mixed in with the photos were some of the emails and other messages that Kim and Milo had exchanged as well.
"Stevie, look." Jess said quietly, pointing to some spots of red on the dirty white bed sheets.
"Blood?" Smithy asked.
"Looks like it." Stevie replied, "Right, we need to get Eddie down here, crime scene photographers, the lot, and then we need to bag up all these photos and emails."
"If she's not here, where is she?" Leon asked, voicing the concern that they all shared.
"I don't know, I just don't know." Stevie said sadly.
All the officers had returned to the station, disappointed that they didn't find Milo and Kim. Kim had been missing for nearly three days now, and not heard from in over 36 hours, and the officers knew that time could be running out for her. Stevie and Jess had sifted through all the photos and messages, tacking some of them onto the board, and leaving the others in plastic wallets. They were reading through the messages, seeing if there was anything they missed which could have alerted them to where Kim was. Jess was on the last message and wasn't feeling very hopeful, but something jumped out at her.
"Stevie, look. This is a message from Milo to Kim, sent the day before she went missing." Jess said, her voice taking on an urgent tone. She handed the piece of paper to Stevie, who skimmed through it.
"Station Road? That's not too far from Milo's house." Stevie murmured, pulling the map out from under all the papers on her desk. She placed a red dot on Station road, and then drew possible routes from Milo's house to Station Road. "There are only three routes he could have taken." Stevie said, tracing the three routes. "There must be some CCTV on these streets which could have picked him up. I'm gonna run down and see if Smithy can spare some officers for this. Won't be a minute." And with that, Stevie disappeared out of CID, leaving Jess to contemplate the message.
Smithy had assigned five of his officers to go through the CCTV from down each of the potential routes that Milo could have taken to meet Kim. Sally and Leon didn't catch him on the CCTV down route one, so they could get rid of that. Mel and Millie were going through route two, but they hadn't found anything yet. That left Nate checking the third route, with Jess helping.
"Sarge!" Mel said to Stevie, who was standing nearby.
"Have you got him?" Stevie asked, hurrying over.
"Look, this was the car registered to him on PNC. It comes out of his road, takes a left down Murray Street, and then left again into Irwin Road before doing a right into Station Road." Mel explained, pausing the tape as Milo's car pulled up onto Station Road.
"Oh Kim." Stevie said sadly, pointing out the blurry figure of Kimberly Stevens standing near to where the car pulled up. "Play it Mel."
Mel pushed play, and the team watched as Milo got out of the car and headed towards Kim. They all saw the shock on her face as she realised Milo wasn't who he said he was, and then she started to struggle, not wanting to go with him. They watched with sad eyes as Kim was pushed into the car by Milo, and how, when Milo got into his side of the car, Kim had opened her door and tried to escape. But Milo had grabbed her round the middle and forced her back in. Milo's car screeched off, and that was it. The team were silent for a minute, the knowledge that Kim could be in serious danger weighing heavy over them.
The CCTV footage of Kim being taken by Milo had been given to the local news stations to try and gather witnesses, and Milo's mug shot had been given to the tabloids, as well as Kim's latest school picture. Some people had rung in claiming they had seen a girl matching Kim's description in a car with a man matching Milo's description, and so far, the people who had rung in seemed to have been genuine. From what the callers had given them, they had been able to get CCTV to build a picture of where Milo had taken Kim, and to help them find her. Nate had gathered the CCTV which had finally led them to where Milo had stopped; 53 Broomfield Road. Millie had run the address through PNC, and it was listed as a known address of Milo's. The house was his mother's, who had died a few months earlier, and it seemed that Milo had moved in. Stevie had gathered a team and was quickly briefing them.
"This is it; we've got his last movements. We know he took Kim against her will and with force, and we know that she didn't want to go with him. We have to find her and arrest Milo. Everyone knows what they're doing, right?" Stevie checked with her team. The officers in front of her nodded determinedly. "Let's go then."
Smithy smashed open the door to 53 Broomfield Place, and six officers including Stevie ran in, all shouting "Police!"
All of the downstairs rooms were clear, but there were clear signs that someone had been there recently. It was with some trepidation that Jess made her way up the stairs. She crept along the top hall to the only door which was shut. She grasped the doorknob tightly in her hand, twisting it carefully. As the door opened, a horrendous smell wafted out, and it was then that Jess knew they had been too late.
"Stevie!" Jess shouted. She didn't wait for Stevie before heading into the bedroom. She rounded the door, and immediately wished that she hadn't been the first to see this. On the double bed, Kim was lying across the bed on her side. She was completely naked, and there were scratches all down her body. Her hands were tied behind her back, there was a gag over her mouth, and her eyes were wide open and glassy, staring at nothing. Jess could see the tear tracks which had dried on Kim's face, and she felt her heart twist. Jess took a hesitant step forward, and had to cover her mouth, the smell was that strong. It had been hot the last few days, and the windows in the bedroom were shut. With her free hand, she pressed two fingers to Kim's neck. Kim was cold to the touch, and solid, and to top it off, there wasn't a pulse. She had been dead for a while. Jess had seen a few dead bodies over the years, but none had hit her as hard as this. It was only when arms went around her shoulders that she realised she had made a sound.
"It's ok Jess." Stevie said quietly.
"But we failed. She's dead Stevie. She was only 15, she shouldn't be dead." Jess said, her voice cracking.
"I know. But at least she's not at Milo's mercy anymore." Stevie said.
"Have they caught him?" Jess asked, turning to look at Stevie.
"Ben, Nate and Smithy found him hiding in the shed. They've called for a van; he'll be taken back to the nick. He didn't fight though; he knows what he's done." Stevie said sadly. "We better get back to the station and tell the mum and brother."
"Can I do it?" Jess asked.
"Are you sure?" Stevie asked, scanning Jess' face carefully.
She nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure."
"Ok then, you go back with the others; I'll ring Eddie and the photographers. Even though it didn't end how we wanted it to, you did a good job PC Hunter." Stevie said with a small smile.
"Thanks Sarge." Jess said sadly, making her way out of the house and back to the station.
Jess had never found it so hard to tell someone that their loved one was dead. Perhaps it was because she knew exactly what it was like to lose a child, perhaps it was because she felt guilt for not getting to Kim earlier, she wasn't sure. But she knew that she never wanted to be too late again if she could help it.
As soon as she had told Catherine that her daughter was dead, she had sunk to the floor, not a sound coming out of her mouth. And then Harry had entered the room, took one look at his mother on the floor and realised that his sister was dead. He ran to his mother, grasping her to him in his arms, sobbing so hard that eventually the noises stopped coming out. Jess had watched them cling together, trying to keep each other afloat on the sea of grief that had rapidly consumed them, and she had quietly left them, another officer taking over. She changed into her civilian clothes and she went home to Callum.
When she opened the door to the house, there were no lights on. That was strange, seeing as it was coming up to midnight and Callum hadn't told her he was going anywhere. She walked through to the living room, calling Callum. She really needed him right now. As she switched the living room light on, she saw a post it note on top of the phone. She picked it up and read it quickly.
"Gone to station, Kennedy called me in. Fingers crossed it's good news. Might see you at the station; if not, back soon. Love you. C"
Jess ran her fingers over the raised writing, shutting her eyes. He would be home soon. She would be ok. She peeled off her jacket and slung it on the sofa. Her feet started walking, leading her to the bathroom. Her arm reached up to the shower, turning it on to hot. She started to undress and soon she was stood naked, shivering in the cold bathroom. She stepped into the shower, the water almost scalding her. Her skin started to turn red, the water stinging her everywhere it hit her.
She wasn't sure when the tears started, but she knew that they wouldn't stop. She couldn't tell how long she had been in there, but she knew she didn't want to come out anytime soon. A sudden rush of cold air into the shower cubicle startled her, and she turned round to see Callum standing there, a look of understanding on his face. Her own face crumpled as she saw him, and he didn't hesitate in getting into the shower with her, fully clothed. He pulled her to him, her bare, wet skin hot against his clothes. The water poured over their heads, unrelenting.
"You're ok, I've got you now." Callum murmured to her, pressing his lips against her forehead. She couldn't say anything; all she could do was cling to him and sob.